Closure means for bottles and the like



May 31, 1966 P. E. VIRANY 3,253,729

CLOSURE MEANS FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed May 21, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Paul E. ff/"any WMB ALQ May 31, 1966 P. E. VIRANY CLOSURE MEANS FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 21, 1964 INVENTOR. fzul E III/"m1 y 4 7'7'0KA/EV6 United States Patent 3,253,729 CLOSURE MEANS FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Paul E. Virany, 27 Whitney St, Westport, Conn.

Filed May 21, 1964, Ser. No. 369,089

3 Claims. (Cl. 21584) This invention relates to a novel closure means for bottles and more particularly for bottles having pressurized material therein.

It has been the usual practice in closing bottles, particularly those having pressurized material therein, to employ sheet metal crown caps which have dependent skirts which are deformed and crimped into locking relation with a portion of the bottle. These require considerable pressure to crimp the skirts in applying the cap and necessitate the use of a tool or bottle opener to partially uncrimp the skirt to remove the cap from the bottle.

The present invention has as its object the overcoming of these difficulties by providing a preformed rigid cap' and securing the cap in sealing relation over theneck of the bottle by non-stretchable tape means, and by providing a simple means for severing the tape whereby the cap can be removed.

A feature of the invention resides in the fact that in applying the cap it is unnecessary to deform the cap member to secure it in position.

Another feature of the invention resides in the fact that the severing means can quickly sever the strap means holding the cap in sealing relation whereby the cap can be readily removed without the necessity of deforming the cap in any manner.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a closure of the present invention having integral strips projecting therefrom.

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial view of another form of enclosure having a circumferential tape around the bottom thereof.

FIG. 4 is another form of the invention in which a.

pair of straps are provided on opposite sides of the bottle to hold the cup in position.

FIG. 5 is a view of another form of the invention in which two pairs of tapes are employed in loop form located 90 apart and in which the severing means comprises a pull tape. i

FIG. 6 is a top view of FIG. 5 showing the crossed straps.

FIG. 7 is a view of the strap arrangement of FliG. 5 showing a severing means secured to the tape.

As shown in the drawings, the present invention comprises a closure 10 for a bottle 11 having an elongate neck 12 with the end of the neck formed with the usual mouth 13 adapted to receive the closure. While the bottle may have non-pressurizedmaterial therein, it is particularly suitable for pressurized or carbonated beverages where substantially high pressures are developed by the released gases of the material.

The novel closure of the present invention comprises a cup-shaped member 14 which may be preformed from any suitable rigid material, i.e., having sutficient rigidity to maintain a seal under the pressure of the pressurized material. It may be a metal or a plastic material such as a high impact styrene. The cup is inverted and has the end of the neck of the bottle inserted therein and into engagement with the bottom 15 of the cup. In some instances it may be desirable to provide a sealing medium 16, such as cork or suitable plastic material, over the bottom of the cup for engaging the end of the bottle to insure the 3,253,729 Patented May 31, 1966 seal in the event of unevenness of the end of the bottle or chips in the mouth of the bottle.

The side walls of the cup extend downwardly over the neck and in accordance with the present invention are held in sealing relation by non-stretchable tape means extending from the cup and secured to the bottle. The tape means may be made of any suitable non-stretchable moisture-proof material, such as a linear polyester, suitable paper, metal and Fiberglas tape which will withstand substantial pressure, in the range of pounds per square inch pressure, in the bottle. The tapes can be separate tapes or can be formed integral with the cup and extend down to and are secured to the body.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 1 the tape means is formed as integral non-stretchable strips 17 depending from the sidewalls of the cup and ending down and secured to the sides of the bottle.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 3 the cup is a substantially deep cup 10a in which the sides extend down the neck to a point at which it substantially engages the flaring neck of the bottle. A circumferential tape 18 of non-stretchable material extends around and engages the bottom of the cup and the adjacent neck of the bottle and effectively holds the cup in sealing relation over the bottle.

In the forms of the invention shown in FIGS. 47, the non-stretchable tape means is formed as separate strips 19 which hold the cap in sealing relation. Under some circumstances, one pair of separate strips of tape extending along and secured to the sides of the bottle and the cup, as shown in FIG. 4, is suflicient. However, it is at present preferred to use two strips of tape disposed at 90 with respect to each other with the tapes passing under the bottle, along the sides of the bottle and over the closure cup in the manner shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The foregoing tapes, in effect, form a loop extending over the top and bottom and securely hold the cup in sealing relation with the end of the neck of the bottle even though sub stantial pressures may be present in the bottle. The closure can thus be readily applied and held in sealing relation without the necessity of crimping or otherwise deforming the cup.

When it is desired to remove the cup, severing means can be provided in the tapes for readily severing the tape and permitting the cup to be removed. In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, this severing means comprises a tear or weakened line 20 formed in the tape which can be broken by a transverse pressure applied thereto. In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 3 there is provided a tear strip 21 in the tape having a fingergrip portion 22 which may be gripped and the tear strip readily removed, thus severing the tape and permitting the closure to be removed from the bottle. In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 5 the ends of the strip are overlapped and one end 23 of the tape is provided with a surface which is non-adhering so that it produces a-finger grip 24 which will permit the loop of tape to be severed by a pull on the fin-ger grip 24. In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 7 a cutting implement 25 can be attached to the tape by a flexible element 26 or the like and can be used to sever the tape. While this may be a sharp knife or the like, in the illustrated form of the invention it is indicated as being a strip 27 with a-saw-tooth edge 28 capable of severing tape.

Thus it will be seen that the closure means of the present invention can be readily applied by pressing down the rigid cap over the end of the bottle and holding it in sealing relation while the non-stretchable tape means are applied to the cap and secured in position on the bottle by any suitable means, such as adhesives, heat, irreversible chemical bonding action and the like, to efl ectively hold the cap in sealing relation even when pressures are built up in the bottle due to the pressurized material being included therein. The sealing is achieved without the necessity of deforming the cup in any manner. When it is desired to remove the Closure, it is merely necessary to sever the tape and remove the cup from its sealing position. This, according to the present invention, can be done in a simple and eifective manner without the necessity of uncrimping or deforming the cap in any respect.

Variations and modifications may be made Within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In combination, a bottle having pressurized material therein and a closure therefor comprising a rigid cupshaped member having the neck of the bottle inserted therein with the inner surface of the bottom of the cup engaging the end of the neck, and non-stretchable means disposed over the outer side of the bottom of the cup and extending from the cup and engaging and adhering to the side of the bottle and forming the sole means holding the bottom of the cup in sealing engagement with the end of the neck.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein there are means for severing the non-stretchable means for releasing the cup for removal from the neck.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the nonstretchable means comprise a plurality of separate elongate plastic tapes attached to the cup and adhesively secured to the side of the bottle, and means for severing the tapes for releasing the cup for removal from the neck.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 835,497 11/1906 Briggs 215-82 1,613,472 1/1927 Maingonnat 215-82 2,255,570 9/1941 Rehfeld 2l583 2,390,291 12/ 1945 Blackman 215-82 2,765,944 10/1956 Davis 215-46 2,950,834 8/1960 Mazza 21546 3,024,934 3/1962 Dreiss 21546 FOREIGN PATENTS 881,689 2/1943 France.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

D. F. NORTON, V. A. TOMPSON, Assistant Examiners. 

1. IN COMBINATION, A BOTTLE HAVING PRESSURIZED MATERIAL THEREIN AND A CLOSURE THEREOF COMPRISING A RIGID CAPSHAPED MEMBER HAVING THE NECK OF THE BOTTLE INSERTED THEREIN WITH THE INNER SURFACE OF THE BOTTOM OF THE CUP ENGAGING THE END OF THE NECK, AND NON-STRETCHABLE MEANS DISPOSED OVER THE OUTER SIDE OF THE BOTTOM OF THE CUP AND EXTENDING FROM THE CUP AND ENGAGING AND ADHERING TO THE SIDE OF THE BOTTLE AND FORMING THE SLOT MEANS HOLDING THE BOTTLE OF THE CUP IN SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE END OF THE NECK. 